Rekindling the relationship
by Mishe Chan
Summary: SASUSAKU. Uchiha Sasuke has returned to Konoha and has a new goal in sight. One that involves a Haruno Sakura. The thing is, she doesn't know it yet.
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer**: _Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san

**Rekindling the relationship**

**  
_Prologue_**

He had managed to get to the Konoha gates before he had finally collapsed, soaked not only in his own blood, but the blood of his older brother who was slung across his back, Uchiha Sasuke had finally made it.

Both of the siblings were in horrendous shape. If the guards at the gate had not seen the younger Uchiha stumble through the gates themselves, both would have thought he had died along with his brother.

Itachi's skin was deathly white and marred with gruesome wounds of the battle that had ensued between them.  
Sasuke's pale complexion had made it difficult to tell if he was alive or not. Needless to say, he was whisked off to the hospital's intensive care unit where 5 minutes later a very dismayed Medic Nin by the name of Haruno Sakura had been ordered to help save his life.

The punishment of his abandonment wasn't so harsh; after the treatment and long recovery that he had needed, the elders had considered him doing them a favour, seeing as he had in fact killed two dangerous S-Class criminals in his journey for his so-called 'power'.

However he was still treated the same as every other missing Nin, with a one year ban on missions that were anything higher than a D/C-class and even after the ban was lifted, he was ordered to take the Chuuin exams in order to excel in harder missions, not that he had any trouble passing that though, the same could be said for the Jounin exams.

XXX

It had been 2 years since he came back, and it was safe to say, things were a lot different.

Haruno Sakura, whose obsession for the Uchiha had faded over the time of his absence, could neither call him an enemy or a friend. Up until his return, she could even go as far as saying he was a total stranger.

That statement, however, was quickly reconstructed once the Uchiha had decided upon a new goal. One that involved that very same Sakura.

* * *

**Things you'll need to know!**

OK Guys.. This is my first fanfic that I've written so try to be optimistic when reading it _plez_? ;D.

The reason behind this appallingly short chapter is because... well it basically isn't a chapter, more of a prologue (as above mentioned..) just to set things straight that the plot after chapter 393 of the manga didn't happen ;]  
This "chapter" is also to give me some time to set a concrete plot for the story,_ that is, if theres going to be a plot at all ;l,_ so if any of you have any suggestions, It would be much appreciated ^-^

**REVIEW!** _plez. 3_

_Mishe-Chan~_


	2. Another day in Konoha

**_Disclaimer_**_: _Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san

* * *

**_Rekindling the relationship_**

_**Chapter 2**  
Another day in Konoha_

* * *

She sped around the obstruction of trees ahead of her, her step slightly faltering on the leaves that had fallen to the ground. If she didn't get her act together, Sakura would most definitely pay for it. The two shadows behind her were converging in and out of her peripheral vision as she darted with excellent speed between the tree trunks, leaving a clutter of leaves to fall softly in her wake.

Jumping up to the tree branches, she began zigzagging in hope to try and confuse the two Nin that were currently honing in on her. The thuds of their feet hitting the bark were getting louder, their breathing becoming clearer. It was obvious they were very near and if she did not up her game, they would quickly close in on her.

Grabbing two kunai attached with bomb seals from her pouch she swiftly attached small packets to each before throwing them a mere ten feet ahead of her. Gathering chakra to her feet she surged upwards onto the second level of tree branches before doubling back on herself as quick as possible and producing the hand seal for the bombs to explode.

The explosions took down half the tree that they were implanted on, as well as one of the Nin. That didn't mean she could stop though as the other Nin was quickly on her tail, dodging the shuriken that had ricocheted out of the packets once the explosion took place.

Her muscles began to tire and her lungs started to burn, she wouldn't be able to outrun these shinobi for much longer, not to mention that her chakra was running low, and to cut into her chakra reserves at this point would leave her at a disadvantage if they were to engage in a battle.

Hastily she caught hold of the tree trunk that she had just landed on and yet again sent a burst of chakra to her feet before pouncing to the ground. Looking back as she dashed towards the open field she caught sight that the shinobi that had been caught in the blast had finally caught up with them.

Picking up her pace, she shot outwards, before coming to a halt in the middle of the field and turned towards them, her kunai ready in hand. The two shinobi that had been chasing after her for nearly an hour and a half sped out from the dimly lit trees before coming to a standstill, awaiting her next move.

Wasting no time she threw down two smoke bombs and began to produce a range of hand seals. As the smoke began to clear, Sakura and a clone burst forth with kunais present in both of their hands. As the Nin made there way to dodge the on coming attacks, hands came from within the ground and latched on to both of their ankles. Now immobilised, the shinobis took out kunais and threw them at the oncoming attackers.

Unable to deflect at the last minute, both clones were struck at the heart, slumping to the ground and bursting into smoke. As both shinobi tried to free themselves from the grasps of the hands, two Sakuras burst out from underneath one Nin, one restraining his arms, the other performing a series of hand seals before shouting.

"Sendai Mugon no jutsu!"

The Nin fell towards her and, with a shift of her shoulder, ended up a heap upon the floor. Looking down at him she noted that he was trapped in her genjutsu, with that she looked upon the remaining nin that was still trapped by her clones hands.

"I guess that makes this fight finally fair, one of my teammates for one of yours…"

Sakura began as she performed the seals for her genjutsu again. However when she opened her mouth to say the technique she was quickly cut short as a kunai was pressed perilously against her throat.

"I don't think so, see, you'll have to come up with a bit more than just a few clones to restrain me." Her attacker remarked, leaning in dangerously close to her ear enough to make her entire body shiver. Sakura's eyes darted towards the restrained nin that had suddenly burst into a cloud of smoke.

"I can see right through you're technique." He stated "Now, release him" Nodding towards his sleeping teammate. Sakura sighed. She had still been defeated after all the plans that she had came up with. Pulling her hands up, she executed the genjutsu, causing the knocked out nin to wake up. Rubbing his eyes, the Nin looked up at his enemy and teammate and smiled at his victory.

"Nice work teme! Better luck next time Sakura-Chan" Naruto said, as he stood up, brushing off his clothes while Sasuke lowered his weapon from Sakura's throat.

* * *

"Pssh! You can talk Naruto, if it wasn't for Sasuke you would have lost." Sakura stated, returning her kunais to her pouch.

"Hey! How was I supposed to know you'd drop that technique on me!?" Naruto whined.

"Well you 're the one that said you wanted us going all out for this spar idiot! Surely you would have known I'd use something on the lines of genjutsu!" She exclaimed

"She's right dobe, you know she outdoes us both in that field, you should have kept your eyes open." Sasuke commented.

"Ah shut it teme." Naruto grumbled.

Sai emerged from the forest and proceeded towards the group whilst rubbing his badly bruised arm.

"So, who won?" he questioned. Naruto's smile became visible again.

"That would be our team of course" he boasted happily

"No thanks to you, dobe." Sasuke muttered. Naruto scowled in his direction before receiving a thump to his right arm by Sakura.

"Will you cut it out?" She ordered.

"But…! He started it!" Naruto whinged, earning him another thump from her yet again.

"Stop being such a baby…" She sighed before turning to Sai, "Let me take a look at that" She said, walking over to the artist and placing a hand over his arm and healing it.

"Oh, its ok you don-. Its nothing" Sai pointed out, quickly glancing over to Sasuke who was looking at the bruise that he had gave him with a slight smirk on his face

"Its alright, it's only a minor injury anyway, ill only be a sec." Sakura replied, finishing off the job. "There all set" She proclaimed, dusting her hands and turning back to the group.

"Can we go now?" Naruto started, "I'm starving!" he groaned, clutching his stomach.

"Naruto you're always starving" Sakura chimed in rolling her eyes, earning a whine from said person. Sakura sighed.

"Fine, But you're paying" She announced, earning a whoop from the kyuubi container and shortly after a moan.

The four 18 year olds began moving off the field. Naruto ran up ahead to try and coax Sai into competing in a Ramen-eating contest with him, The artist however, did not seem the least bit interested and politely refused, leading to Naruto pestering him with ways of trying to tempt him, firstly by accusing him of being a chicken. Sakura sighed at Naruto's immaturity, whilst turning her attention to the Sharingan user that was currently shifting closer to her as they walked.

"You ok?" he asked, taking in her appearance.

"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be" Sakura questioned with an inquisitive look, noting that he was examining her which caused her to fold her arms protectively

"Well you ran for nearly an hour and a half before trying to take us on, I'm amazed you held out for that long" He explained. Her eyebrows rose

'Amazed?' she thought. 'I was happy with the amount of time I had held out for but still; hearing those words coming from Sasuke is a huge compliment." She inwardly laughed. Regardless if he was a little more social these days, anything referring to a compliment from Sasuke usually ended up along the line of, 'That was good' or 'You did well' but for him to say that he was amazed was on an entirely different level. She chuckled before turning back to him

"Wow, that's the best compliment I've seen you give to anyone. Keep that up and people will start thinking you fancy me or something." She grinned before walking on ahead. Sasuke slowed his pace.

"Oh... You have no idea..." He uttered whilst smirking before he caught up to her pace and continued to ichiraku with her silently.

* * *

**Things you'll need to know!**

**So**, i think i have an outline for the story. Its a little hazy.. but im getting there ;D This chapter? ermm..... I really cant sum up the chapter tbh, it just kind of sets the ball rolling for the story, it helped me kinda map out the plot for the fic so .. yeah i've added it. Bleh.  
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**Sendai Mugon no Jutsu** _(Thousand year silence technique)  
If hit with the genjutsu, the victim will be trapped in dimension (of the mind?) where he is unable to awake from. The dimension itself is black and the victim is unable to hear or speak.  
__(Own creation)_

**REVIEW!** _plez. ;3_

_Mishe-Chan~_


	3. A leopard can change it's spots

_**Disclaimer**: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san_

* * *

**Rekindling the relationship**

**Chapter 2  
**A leopard can change its spots

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes to see the morning sun shining brightly through her curtains. Looking at her clock it read 9 a.m.

'_These shifts at the hospital are really wrecking my sleep. It's my day off for Christ's sake and this headache doesn't freaking help_!' Sakura inwardly groaned as she sat up, swinging her legs over the side of her bed to rest on the floor. Wiping the sleep from her eyes she stood up and stretched before making her way over to the bathroom.

Sakura laid out some towels and turned the shower on. Stepping in to the bath, the warm water quickly soothed her aches from last night's sleep deprivation. She poured some Strawberry scented shampoo in her hand before lathering it deeply within her hair and rinsing it off. The same was done with the conditioner but before she could use her shower gel a knock was heard at the door.

'_Aah jeez._' Sakura sighed and yelled "Just a minute!" before quickly stepping out and wrapping a towel around herself. Making her way into the bedroom the knocks became louder and more frequent.

'_I swear if Naruto's back from his mission and thinks he can come knocking at half 9 in the morning I'm gonna knock him into next week_!' she thought wrapping the towel back round her and making her way over to the door. Unlocking it she swung the door open while standing slightly behind it to hide most of her body.

"Naruto! Will you qu-" She shouted before cutting it short as she realised it was Sasuke. He looked up and his eyes widened a fraction as he noticed she was clad in just a towel before averting his eyes away.

"Sasuke? What are you doing here?" Sakura asked with a questioning look. Still trying to avoid looking at her he replied.

"The Hokage has a mission for us; she needs us to be at the tower now"

"Oh ok, erm, come in, I just need 5 minutes" She said, walking off and leaving the door open. As he stepped through the door he caught a glimpse of her turning into her bedroom with just the towel covering her and sighed. Shaking his head he turned around and surveyed her apartment.

She wasn't exactly rich, but working as many hospital shifts as she could whilst doing missions as well had made her well off. Not seeing the need for a house, she had bought an apartment, which was fairly large, the walls were a cream and chocolate brown colour that matched the cream carpet, she had a set of 2 brown 3-seater sofas that were surrounding a rather large television, and to make the room look more 'homey' there were various plants and pictures of Sakura's family and friends situated throughout the four walls.

He sat down and waited while she was getting ready, putting her citizen clothes on and drying her unruly and wet hair. A few minutes passed by before she stepped out of the bedroom. She noticed him sitting on her sofa and when their eyes met she gave a smile before making her way over to the door and opening it. She held the door open and nodding to the outside world.

"Let's go then" She suggested before both Nins walked outside and took to the rooftops, moving towards the Hokage tower.

* * *

Sakura knocked the door. Hearing clearance to enter, she opened it and she and Sasuke moved towards the Hokage's desk. A man, who had been conversing with Tsunade, peered over to them. As they stood awaiting their instruction Tsunade looked up and began.

"Sakura, Sasuke. I have a mission for you both. This is our client, Shima Satoru. He's a servant of a Wave Country Feudal Lord." She nodded towards Satoru. "Recently the Feudal Lord hired two high class Jounin to guard a servant in the transportation of a rare and precious vase to his mansion; however the vase was stolen in an ambush"

"The vase is of high importance to the Feudal Lord" The client added "He paid a great deal of money to possess such an item and would like to hire you to retrieve it."

'_A retrieval mission, you've got to be kidding me…'_ Sasuke inwardly sighed. "Where are the two Jounin?" he voiced. Satoru glanced over to Sasuke before looking down.

"They were, unfortunately, killed during the ambush" Satoru muttered. Tsunade spoke again.

"Seeing as two Jounin of a high status were killed during this attack, this assignment has been regarded as an A-class mission, which is why we'll be sending the both of you. Here is your mission scroll; Sasuke, you are this mission's Captain; you leave tomorrow at 9 at the main gate with Satoru. Dismissed." As the leave was confirmed, both Jounin left the room and made their way outside.

Sakura turned to Sasuke who was currently reading the scroll.

"So, any details I need to know about?" She questioned, Sasuke turned his attention to her.

"We already have a suspect, so there's no need to go undercover. Dress in your Jounin uniform and we'll meet by the gate at 8:30, just to overlook some details before we head off." Sasuke stated turning back to the scroll, earning a nod from Sakura.

"Ok that's fine" she confirmed. Her stomach had begun to rumble quietly, she needed something to eat, "Erm, do you want to get some breakfast? I'm starving" She asked silently doubting he'd say yes. He looked up at her again.

"You didn't eat anything this morning?" He asked raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well, no… I was gonna eat after I had a shower but then you showed up…" She trailed off. Sasuke checked the time, it was 10 a.m.

"Ah, ok lets go" He said before beginning to walk down the street to the small diner at the corner, Sakura caught him up.

"What's this? Normally I'd have to beg you to do something with me..." Sakura explained. He acknowledged her, raising his eyebrow again.

"Well if you don't want me to…" He began, only to be cut off shortly by Sakura

"No no! I do! I do." She laughed while snagging arm and leading him to the diner "I just rarely see you agree to anything without trying to get out of It, I like this new you" she added smiling. His mouth twitched at the side hinting that he was about to smile to, it was quickly replaced with the unemotional face he usually wore before walking along with her.

* * *

After the breakfast had taken place, the two friends had parted ways. After a shop around the town, she had bumped into Ino and had a chat with her, (Most of which was gossip), before finally going home.

8 pm rolled by and she had finished her dinner when there was a knock at the door. Putting her plate in the sink, she made her way over to the door and opened it, resulting in a pair of arms flying towards her.

"Sakura-Chaaan!" Naruto hollered before encasing her in a giant hug, one that Sakura was having trouble breathing in.

"Na-Naruto, C-cant ...Breathe!" Sakura gasped trying to push him off. Sasuke, watching the spectacle just sighed inwardly.

"Naruto, let go… you're suffocating her" He murmured, making the blonde realise her attempts to push him off, consequently releasing her.

"Ah, heh heh. Um... Sorry about that Sakura Chan" he said guiltily, getting himself ready for a bout of punches from said person. Sakura looked up after getting a substantial amount of oxygen, anger slightly present in her eyes. She moved towards him as he tried to back up, expecting the inevitable, when she threw her arms around him.

"Naruto! You're back! It's been ages" she proclaimed smiling at him

"Err... Yeah! Kaka-sensei was assigned a side mission that took longer than expected" He explained.

"Dobe, you really should stop calling him that… He's not your teacher anymore" Sasuke stated earning a glare from the blonde.

"I'll call him whatever I want…! Anyway! Sakura, we're going out for a drink seeing as it's been ages since I saw any of you. Come with us?" Naruto suggested, hope apparent in his voice and his expression. Sakura looked over to Sasuke then back to Naruto.

"Me and Sasuke have a mission tomorrow" she expressed, sending a questioning look to the Sharingan user as if to say 'what are you doing?' Sasuke merely shrugged it off.

"That's what I said, but he kept pestering me so I had to in the end" he announced. Sakura eyed him suspiciously.

"Soft-hearted Sasuke strikes again..." She murmured loud enough for him to hear, earning her a scowl from him.

"Everyone's coming along, including Ino! So you won't be the only girl." He reassured her.

"I don't care about being the only girl Baka!" She declared, thumping him lightly in the arm. She sighed "Where are we going?" she asked.

"Hotaru's" Naruto revealed.

"Give me 15 minutes." She said before running into her room.

15 minutes later she re-emerged from her room dressed in a black halter top that had turquoise sequins running along the V-neck and down the middle to the hem of the top, along with a dark blue denim skirt complete with leggings and high heeled boots. Her make-up was a light green tint above her eyes and pale pink lip gloss that complemented her skin tone.

Naruto stared in awe as Sasuke, secretly, stole glances at her with a slight smirk on his face.

"Sakura Chan! You look gorgeous!" Naruto proclaimed smiling wide eyed, Sasuke inwardly agreeing. Sakura returned the smile.

"Thank you, now come on lets go" she proposed holding the door open for them to walk through followed quickly by her.

* * *

Hotaru's was busy. Very busy. But that was to be expected on a Friday night. After all, it was the start of the weekend, and any Nin that was lucky enough to have it off would surely be seen inside the club. Who wouldn't be? The admission was free, the music was good, and the prices of the drinks were great. 3 perfect examples.

As the three teammates made there way in after meeting up with Sai, they spotted the gang over in the far corner and made their way over.

Everyone was here. The whole of rookie 9, although, they weren't exactly rookies anymore. Trust Naruto to come up with this kind of number for a gathering. Ino glanced over to the oncoming trio and noticed Sakura.

"Forehead!!" She yelled, pushing her way through the crowd and pointing at her. "When did this happen?" Slightly swaying as the former drinks caught up on her.

"What're you talking about?" Sakura laughed with an incredulous look.

"You look hot! Where the hell did you learn to dress that good!" Ino said in an almost whining voice. Sakura just shook her head. Grabbing Ino's shoulders she turned her around and directed her back to the table. As the music blared on, Naruto had coaxed Kiba into a drinking competition, surviving 3 rounds before taking another 5 minute break the betting had begun once again.

"A tenner on Kiba Forehead, he's obviously better when it comes to holding his drink" Ino announced turning towards Sakura with a devilish grin on her face. Feeling a sense of loyalty towards her teammate, she shot back

"Hell no Ino-Pig! Naruto's got his mind set on winning! Kiba doesn't stand a chance! 15 on Naruto!" She declared. Ino's grin intensified.

"Ha-ha, you're on" shaking hands with her.

After 4 more rounds, the competition was drawing to a close when each contestant looked equally pale and neither barely able to sit up. They downed yet another series of 3 shots each before attempting to stare each other down during the 5 minute recess between each round. Time passed by and with each minute Kiba became paler and paler until finally he stood up and staggered over to the men's toilets.

Cheering erupted from the table as people collected their cash earning groans from the people tossing it away.

"Did jyoou see thatt Sakura-Chyaan? Huh? I did awesomeee" Naruto expressed as he raised another shot of vodka to his lips. Sakura caught hold of it, took the glass from his hand and downed the shot herself.

"Yeah Naruto, you did wickedd. I made 30 eassyyy ones off you but maybe you should keep off the vodka now... you look like you're gonna throw up any sssecond" She laughed swaying slightly.

"Pssh! Me? Throw up?! That's crazy …tall...k.." Naruto trailed off as he finally passed out. Sakura poked him.

"Oi! You seriously gone?" She grilled poking him another 2-3 times before Sai came back with the drinks.

"Oh, Naruto-Kun passed out?" He inquired looking down at the slumbering form.

"Yeahh, he needs to go home to be honest" Sakura said, starting to stand up.

"Its ok Sakura San, Ill take him" He reassured.

"You sure? He can be a pain when he's drunk" She warned him

"I don't think he's in a state to become much trouble" Sai replied with a slight smile. "Ill get him home don't worry about it" Picking him up and supporting his weight on his side. Shikamaru stood up to.

"Ill help you out, I should be off anyways, I have to be up early and if I don't go to bed my mother will become troublesome tomorrow" He sighed, taking Naruto's other arm and half the support before both beganmoving him outside.

Sakura checked the time. It was 11:45 pm. "Suppose I shouldd get going too to be honests, there's not gonna be any chyance I'll be getting upp at half 7 tomorrow if I don't go now" She stood up quickly and grabbed her purse when a bout of dizziness mixed with alcohol hit her and she fell backwards. Before she hit her head off her chair, arms had caught her and were now pulling her up. Looking around (and nearly falling over again) she saw Sasuke holding on to her shoulders to keep her from falling over again.

"I'll walk you home; you don't look in any state to even stand" He declared, grabbing a hold of her arm, supporting her weight, and making their way outside the club.

"Ha! See you've definitely changed!!" She giggled pointing at him. "A year ago you would have left me here to pass out" she smiled. Sasuke was nonplussed.

"Sakura, you're exaggerating, I'd never leave you to pass out" he answered, as they continued down the street towards her house. After a while she spoke again.

"You did when we were 12…" Her voice a lot lower and slightly saddened. Sasuke stopped in his tracks and turned his head to face her. Her eyes were distant as she looked towards the ground, not wanting to make eye contact with him. If it were possible, the Uchiha heir felt a pull on his heart and an emotion he never really became accustomed to. Guilt.

"That was a long time ago Sakura. Things have changed" He uttered before beginning to move again. Another silence ensued until they were finally at her apartment and he was unlocking her door.

"I know they have and I'm so grateful for it" She looked up into his eyes and for once, his dark onyx eyes met her shining jades. "I'm so glad you're back, I know I don't voice it as much but I really am." She smiled albeit sadness was present in it.

Her eyes were growing heavy; Sasuke opened the door and escorted her inside. She kicked off her boots and stumbled forwards into his grasp.

"Maybe we should get you to bed" he suggested looking down at her. She murmured slightly.

"Hmmm.. may..be" Nearly falling asleep in his arms. Picking her up, he opened the door to her bedroom, pulled back the covers, placed her on the bed and tucked her in. Looking down at her he readjusted a strand of hair that was currently resting on her face.

"Things have changed Sakura," he whispered as he bent down and kissed her forehead. "you'll figure that out soon enough…" Standing up, he then performed a transportation jutsu and all that was left after he disappeared were a flurry of leaves, falling softly to the ground.

* * *

**Things you'll need to know!**

I'm not exactly happy with the ending, it was better in my head but I can't seem to put it down in words T_T!

So.. erm. A mission begins next time. woo ¬_¬  
Let's just hope it's actually decent the way I write it down heh.  
Chapters seem to be gettin longer hummm.  
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The time skip between chapter 1 to this is about 2 weeks. That kinda sums up the reason why Naruto's been gone for "Ages" ;3

**REVIEW!** _Plez ;D_

_Mishe-Chan~_


	4. Reminiscence

_**Disclaimer**: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san_

* * *

**Rekindling the Relationship**

**Chapter 3  
**Reminiscence

* * *

There were three things going through Haruno Sakura's mind once she had woken up.

1 – Her head was pounding  
2 – She was never going to drink again before a mission  
3 – It was 8:35.

"GODAMNIT!" she cursed kicking the bed covers off. Scrambling over to her wardrobe she yanked the doors open and seized her uniform from its hanger.

Hopping on one leg whilst trying to get the other in her other Jounin pant leg, she snatched up her weapons pouch and scrolls.

She briskly turned on her heel to scan the room for her shoes which were in the far corner. Still trying to get the rest of her bottom half into her pants she made her way over to them, however as she was doing so she accidentally stepped on the loose pant leg, therefore tripping herself up, she began to topple forward.

With her hands already occupied she could do nothing but try to turn her body so that she would land on her back.

Pivoting her shoulders and hips she began to rotate, the ground however, came upon her too quick and she landed hard and painfully on her side. Hissing in pain, she dropped the pouch and scrolls and clutched her hip.

'Jesus, could this morning get any worse?!' she inwardly cried, glancing at her clock which now read 8:40. Groaning she pulled herself up and rested on her good hip. Pulling her trousers up (and wincing when they grazed her injured hip) she began to walk again, pain shooting down her leg when she tried to walk on her right side. Groaning in frustration she quickly brought a glowering hand to her hip and searched for any serious damage.

After finding nothing severe, she poured a fair amount of chakra into the affected area, leading to the pain somewhat subsiding. Glancing at the clock yet again she read 8:44. After testing her newly healed leg to see if there was any difficulty in walking and finding she only had a minor limp, she quickly filled a smallish bag with necessities (and a few more personal things thanks to henge no jutsu) that she would need during the mission. Doing a mental check on everything she needed she hastily left her apartment and set off in the direction of the main gates.

* * *

Landing in front of the gates she caught sight of Sasuke who was currently resting against a wall and observing her, she walked over to him. Sasuke looked at her as if expecting an explanation.

"Ah. Err, sorry I'm late... I-I got up late and-" She began to babble when he cut in.

"What happened to your hip?" Sakura glanced down at her hip and realised he must have seen her limp. Not really wanting to explain her reason and further embarrassing herself in front of him, she quickly came up with an excuse.

"I, err, slept on it funny." She replied looking at the floor in an almost guilty manner.

"Why didn't you heal it?" He questioned further, she looked back up at him.

"Its only minor, it'll heal itself. It's not getting in the way or anything" She certified. With that, he murmured indistinctively and pulled out the mission scroll.

"We'll wait for Satoru before going over a few details." He stated. Sakura who was relieved he had not pressed it any further merely nodded and leaned against the wall awaiting their associate.

Satoru showed up at the designated time as Sasuke began reviewing the plan for the mission.

"The suspect we're after is Tetsurio Nori, a missing wave Nin. As we have Satoru travelling with us it will take a day and a half to get to the bridge connecting to the Wave country, during which time, Satoru, you will provide us with any information that you consider is valuable to the mission. After that, Satoru will part ways and we will start investigating on the location of the Missing-Nin" He announced earning nods from both members of the group. With that, the group set off from Konoha gates and continued heading west.

* * *

"Nori was last spotted a week ago in a small village called Miyamagarasu that resides in the eastern part of the island." Satoru informed. "It takes half a days travel to get there for a normal person, but for Shinobi it should take about 2-3 hours. Here I'll mark it on the map"

"Ok, thanks" Sakura said, taking the map that he presented her with. They continued to walk along the dirt path in which Sasuke was leading them. Before long Satoru began conversing again.

"So you guys seem close…" He began waiting for her answer

"Yeah, back when we were genin, me, Sasuke and Naruto were put together to form team 7 with Kakashi-Sempai, we were inseparable." She replied smiling as she reminisced

"You mean Uzumaki Naruto? The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki?" He piped in, earning a nod.

"Whoa… You must have had quite a handful, with the Kyuubi container AND the last Uchiha on your tail" He laughed.

"Not really, they centred on each other more than me. They were always fighting and arguing." Sakura pointed out with a small smile on her face.

"Ah, so are you all still 'inseparable' " he continued.

"I wouldn't say inseparable, being Jounin makes the chances of being together on missions etc a little more difficult. But we always find time to catch up and stuff" She responded

"Oh, that's good then…" He affirmed. They continued to walk, the conversation between the two dying down and becoming more like small talk.

Nightfall had fallen upon them before they finally stopped. From a day of travelling, Sakura was ordered to build the fire and set up camp as Sasuke checked the perimeter and scouted for food. After the meal, which consisted of cooked fish from the nearby river and an apple, the team had called it a night and made makeshift beds on the ground whilst Satoru was offered the small 1 man tent (seeing as the other two were adapted to sleeping on the ground due to many missions in the past)

It had been an hour since they had all went to sleep, yet Sakura was still wide awake, tossing and turning. Although it wasn't hurting, her hip was proving to be uncomfortable to lay on, whichever positive she was in. Inwardly sighing, she sat up and moved over to her bag, pulling out a shuriken that had a purple band around it. Quickly releasing the henge no jutsu she opened the small box of painkillers that had just transformed from the shuriken and took 2 capsules from the packaging. Healing something that wasn't serious was against her way, in her mind, to use her chakra on something that could be cured or nullified by some antibiotics or a painkiller was simply a waste. Popping the two capsules into her mouth and swallowing them down with a drink from her flask she then transformed the box back into its original form of a shuriken before putting it back into her bag and laying back down. Within 20 minutes she was asleep.

* * *

Morning had come much sooner than Sakura wanted it to. The glare of the sunrise had slipped its way through the trees directly into her eyes, consequently waking her up. Stretching whilst looking round, she saw that Sasuke was already awake and getting rid of the evidence of the fire whilst Satoru, like her, was sitting outside the tent; groggily rubbing his eyes.

Putting away the tent and picking up their belongings, the set off yet again. Being an hour and a half earlier into their trip meant that they were able to get into Wave Country sooner than expected, which meant more time to investigate and hopefully find the location of the missing Nin sooner.

It was almost 11 o'clock before they had finally reached the bridge connecting the Wave Country to the Fire. As Satoru rushed ahead to hand over the papers that allowed them to set foot in the country, Sakura leant against the fence alongside Sasuke and glanced around.

"The Great Naruto bridge huh." She muttered to herself. Sasuke, who had heard her, looked up at the title which was situated at the entrance to the bridge.

"Its hard to think it was named after such an idiot." He remarked earning a glare from Sakura, looking back up she smiled slightly.

"That was our first A-Class mission" she began "do you remember it?" Sasuke remained silent, recollecting the first mission in which they had to engage in a fight for, but slowly nodded to tell her that he was still listening. Glancing at her from the side, he saw her eyes visibly darken before she began to speak again.

"That was the mission we almost lost you…" She trailed off sadness apparent in her voice as she looked towards the ground. He frowned at her, his brows furrowed as he contemplated how to go on this. As the mood didn't change he inwardly sighed before lightly flicking the side of her head. She turned towards him, in confusion, rubbing her head delicately.

"What the hell was that for?" She demanded with a slight angry tone, he shrugged

"Stop being so morbid Sakura, it's not like you." He mentioned. Sakura raised her eyebrows at that statement, before looking down at the floor yet again.

"I'm sorry" she paused. "I know I shouldn't hold on to the past but still-"

She tried to think of how to put it into words of how much she cared for him, but simply stating the obvious would make her look stupid and maybe give him the idea that she was interested in him. Truthfully, she was. But telling him that would make him reject her again like he had all those years ago. A rejection her heart couldn't take twice.

"It's ok." Sasuke cut in; stroking the area he had flicked softly. "I'm sorry I hurt your head." He then added. Sakura's eyes widened at the touch of his hand to her head. Uchiha Sasuke? Coming into physical contact with another human on his own accord? Just what the hell was going on here? Before she could verbalise her thoughts Satoru reappeared.

"Hey guys, everything's sorted. You ready?" he announced. Sakura looked back to Sasuke, who had returned her confused expression with his, almost caring, own before turning to Satoru.

"Yeah, lets go" he said, beginning to walk off. Satoru's eyes followed the raven-haired Nin before turning back to Sakura with his own confused expression.

"Is everything ok?" He asked, worry apparent in his voice. Sakura, who had watched Sasuke walk off, turned back to Satoru with a small smile.

"Yeah, everything's ok" she reassured, more to herself than to him, before they both swiftly caught up to their team mate and continued on their trek.

* * *

**Things you'll need to know!**

Ok, this ending, like the last, has ended up crap. But if I kept on with the story it would have taken me ages, and since it's nearing Christmas I didn't think I'd get it finished in time to give you a chapter beforehand (As I _probably_ wont be doing another until after the christmas hols unless I get bored of my presents ;D )

Anyway, Now that I've done it… I feel a whole lot better ;D. Not much has happened between them but still, I wanted you guys to know where Sakura thinks she stands in their 'relationship'

Ill try and update as soon as I can tho ;D

Thanks to:  
_Tiger Priestess  
and  
alanacrystal_

For reading and reviewing on more than one occasion ;D 3

**Merry Christmas!!!**

**REVIEW!** _Plez. ;3_

Mishe-chan~


	5. Author's Note

Well I said I wouldn't write… and I'm not. Just want to answer some questions and set things straight tbh ;]

_**Tiger Priestess:**_

Your idea of Satoru kinda liking Sakura has given me a small part of the story that helps with the SasuSaku area. THANKS! X]

_**Alanacrystal:**_

I'm sorry it's taking so long for Sakura to realise Sasuke's feelings but I'm trying to keep them in character as much as I can. Saying that, I don't think its in Sasuke to confess his love for her or outright kiss her ;l SORRY! But I have a few ideas that'll clue Sakura in so don't worry ;D

_**Alayneni:**_

You'll have to wait and see ;]

Ok now reviews are sorted, the story announcement follows.

The past few days my heads been on overdrive with plots, what to include, what not to include and ideas that'll help the story out. Truth be told… IT'S DRIVING ME CRAZY! I have a huge part of the plot in my head. But for it to work it has to involve a bit of nudity/implied sexual themes which I'm not entirely comfortable with but still. If I weren't to use it the plot would still be ok but it'll lose a lot of its, fire if you will.

So REVIEW! And let me know what you think I should do please.

Mishe-Chan~


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